Councils call for mining fund to be restored a year after Resources for Regions program abolished
Many regional communities bear the burden of coal production in NSW. (ABC Newcastle: Romy Stephens)
In short:
There are concerns councils across NSW are not receiving adequate funding to maintain infrastructure and services that support nearby mining operations.
One of the chairs on a panel that oversees a multi-million-dollar fund for mining communities says the money is being "quarantined" for four years.
What's next?
The state government plans to release details of future investments under a new regional trust fund soon.
Several New South Wales councils say they are missing out on crucial funding that helps them pay for road upgrades and community services that support nearby mines.
Since 2012, mining communities have received tailored funding through the Resources for Regions fund, which delivered $560 million for 355 projects across the state.
It was abandoned in the 2023–24 budget and mining communities were told they could instead access funding through the Regional Development Trust (RDT).
Multiple councils have told the ABC they have not been allocated mining funding for two years.
NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said government support was particularly important for remote mining communities such as Broken Hill and Cobar.
"The ability for those communities to fund some of the infrastructure that is needed to maintain big mining operations near those communities is limited," he said.
"We're talking about 26 local councils out of a total of nearly 100 regional councils that have had funding taken away over the past two years."
Jim Hickey said Broken Hill has not been allocated mining funding in two years. (ABC Broken Hill: Bill Ormonde)
Broken Hill Deputy Mayor Jim Hickey said mining was the backbone of the community, but it was a double-edged sword at times.
"We pay penalties … our roads get belted around because of heavier vehicles," he said.
"Nothing can be done without [funding], your town's going to die, fall backwards, you can't do any improvements."
Money 'quarantined'
The state government sets aside $25 million annually from mining royalties, which are revenue taxes paid to governments to extract minerals, for the Royalties for Rejuvenation Fund — designed to support coal mining communities.
Brad Cam is the chair of the Royalties for Rejuvenation Central West Regional Expert Panel.
He estimated $75 million was sitting in that fund but said the panel had been told it was being withheld, without reason.
"We had got the guidelines finalised ready for the first rounds of funding to be rolled out and that unfortunately has been stopped," Mr Cam said.
"We've been told as chairs that the funding has been quarantined until 2028."
Figures from the NSW Minerals Council show mining royalties delivered a record $4.7 billion to the state's economy in 2022/23 and are forecast to deliver more than $13 billion over the next four years.
Mr Cam called for the Royalties for Rejuvenation funding to be made available to mining communities.
"We feel like we've become the forgotten areas in regional NSW," he said.
Train carriages loaded with coal are a common sight in communities like Muswellbrook and Singleton. (ABC News: Jake Lapham)
New fund
Resources for Regions offered up to $140 million across 26 eligible local government areas in 2022 — up from $75 million the previous year.
Money went towards a range of projects that ensured the ongoing prosperity of mining communities, such as road or bridge upgrades, waste infrastructure, and public space upgrades.
The state government has committed an initial investment of $400 million to the RDT — $37 million has so far been invested in areas such as airstrips and Aboriginal businesses.
Singleton Mayor Sue Moore said there was little information on the new fund.
"[Council is] very much in limbo at the moment, understanding what the guidelines are going to be and what we can apply for," Cr Moore said.
"We'd like to know when we're going to see something happen, when we're going to see some money come through."
Sue Moore wants to see the return of tailored mining funding for her community. (ABC Newcastle: Bridget Murphy)
Mr Galilee said mining communities would likely need to compete with the more than 90 other regional councils across the state when being selected for RDT funding.
"We would like to see a dedicated funding arrangement through the Regional Development Trust made available for those councils that were previously eligible for the Resources for Regions," Mr Galilee said.
A state government spokesperson said it was taking a fresh approach to investing in regional NSW to ensure funding was invested where it was needed most and where it would have the most impact.
"Details of future investments to be made from the trust will be announced soon and appropriate entities from any community across regional NSW will be eligible," the spokesperson said.
More than $5 million has also been used to establish the Future Jobs and Investment Authorities designed to help coal-dependent communities transition.
The government did not respond directly when asked if the Royalties for Rejuvenation program was still running.